Method for the destination control of objects fed into a distributing conveying system and distributing conveying system for performing such method

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for transporting items along conveyor sections to desired destination stations positioned along the conveyor sections. The system utilizes stored data for each item representing the item track section, item destination and item track section ranking.

United States Patent [191 Groot'eboer [451 Jan. 15,1974

[ METHOD FOR THE DESTINATION CONTROL OF OBJECTS FED INTO A DISTRIBUTING CONVEYING SYSTEM AND DISTRIBUTING CONVEYING SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING SUCH METHOD [75] Inventor: Wilhelm Grooteboer, Sinzig,

Germany [73] Assignee: Alex Linder GmbH, Nuertingen, Germany 22 Filed: Mar. 13, 1972 211 App]. No.: 234,005 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 12, 1971 Germany P 21 11 934.6 Jan. 28, 1972 Switzerland 1247/72 [52] U.S. Cl. 214/11 C, 214/152 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 43/00 [58] Field of Search ..'214/11 R, 11 C, 152

[56] References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,573,748 4/1971 Holme 214/11 R 3,576,559 4/1971 Gerstenberger 214/11 C Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-R. B. Johnson Attorney-Arthur Schwartz et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT 30 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 15 am sum 03 or 11 Em Eziii j ENENENENQEii W5EL E E SE Eu M 1 n p M Ci R m 4 m N w mma I m PAIENTEDJAN '1 5mm sum as ur 11 PATENTEDJAN 1 5 1914 saw us or 11 PAIENITZEUJANIS'HI'M 3.785.510

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PATENTEBJAN 1 Slim saw 0s 0F 11 PATENTEDJAN I 5 I974 sumv near-11 METHOD FOR THE DESTINATION CONTROL OF OBJECTS F ED INTO A DISTRIBUTING CONVEYllNG SYSTEM AND DISTRIBUTING CONVEYING SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING SUCH METHOD The present invention relates to a method for the destination control of objects which are fed into any desired station of a distributing conveying system with a recirculating conveyor and automatically discharged at destination, which may be any desired discharge station, said conveying system being divided into track sections such that none of said track sections passes over a station provided with facilities for switching an object to be conveyed from one track to another, and including an electronic control system comprising a store which, when an object is fed into the conveying system, receives the identification of the desired discharge station, hereinafter called destination tag, as input and which causes the said object to be discharged upon reaching its station of destination. I

In accordance with prior art methods for the destination control of objects, normally placed in containers, in a distributing conveying system, such containers carry no information which indicates their destination. The destination is input in a central store in the form of a destination tag when the container containing the object to be conveyed is fed in at the feed station. in the central store, this destination information moves through the store in accordance with an analog representation of the path to be travelled through the conveying system at a speed which corresponds to the speed of the conveyor. When the information reaches a fixed point in the store which carries the same information, the container with the said object has reached its destination, whereupon a discharge pulse is released which causes the container to be removed from the conveying system at that specific station. To function properly, this method calls for exact synchronization between the mechanical conveying system proper and the electrical representation of is occupancy. The need for synchronization is apt to create difficulties because the conveyor may run at different speeds, e.g., as a result of differences in the distribution of loads. In particular, difficulties are bound to arise at the points of transfer to other types of conveying systems, e.g., at the point of transfer from an approximately horizontal conveyor to a vertical tower-type winder. This method is difficult to perform if, additionally, the system includes branches and crossings and, moreover, is required to meet different operating conditions such as preferences for specific tracks and specific times.

Methods for the control of distributing conveying systems wherein the containers carry a specific information with respect to their destination are also known in the art. The destination tag of the desired destination is applied to the container before the latter is fed. into the system. At each discharge station which the container passes on its way through the system, the destination tag on the container is compared with a destination tag corresponding to that station. If the tags coincide, the container is ejected. If they do not coincide, the container moves on. Admittedly, such systems are of comparatively simple design. However, they have a drawback in that a complete scanning and comparing system must be provided at each station. Centralized control is impossible. This is a major disadvantage, es-

pecially in large installations. Another disadvantage is that such systems have no provision for specific preferences. At branches or junctions it is impossible to give preference to individual containers. The only preference which such systems permit is that for a specific track. A particular drawback of systems operating in accordance with such prior art methods consists in that the procedure for setting the coding on the containers is comparatively time-consuming and that the resulting difficulties tend to multiply as the number of stations increases.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a method for destination control in a distributing conveying system which obviates the need for reading devices at the stations, the need for marked containers and the need for synchronization between the mechanical conveying system and the electric store and yet warrants dependable operation.

In accordance with the present invention, this object is accomplished by storing, apart from the destination tag, two further items of information for each object, viz. the position tag which is defined as the identification of the following track section to which each object is transferred upon leaving a station, and a third item of information which indicates the position in which each object ranks in the order of all objects contained in a specific track section at any one time. The destination tag remains unchanged as long as the object is within the conveying system whereas its position tag is newly stored whenever the object enters a new track section, i.e., whenever it is shifted from one track section to another, in accordance with the identification of the newly entered track section and the third item of information related to the said object is given in accordance with the position in which the said object ranks in the order of all objects contained in the said specific track section and changed whenever one of the other objects contained in the same track section leaves that track section so as to reflect the new position in which the said object then ranks in the order of all objects contained in that track section.

A special advantage of the method in accordance with the present invention consists in that no synchronization is required between the speed of the recirculating conveyor and the processing of information. An item of information related to the container or object will be processed only when the container or object passes a juncture," i.e., either when it is fed into the conveying system or when it reaches a station. In this context, the term station shall be interpreted to include switches, crossings and points of transfer to another conveying system. Generally, a station shall be defined as any facility for shifting the object from one track to another, the object being either fed into, or removed from, the track or transferred from one conveying system to another. Particularly advantageous is the fact that it is not necessary to provide each station with a reading device which reads out the information applied to the object. Compared with simulating systems, the present invention affords the advantage of requiring substantially less storage capacity since the storage capacity may be kept substantially below that required to provide for the maximum nugber of objects that can be physically accommodated in the conveying system. According to the present invention, the storage capacity may be adapted to suit the maximum number of objects that will actually be contained within the conveying system simultaneously at any one time and this number is always substantially below the physical capacity of the system. Another advantage of the method in accordance with this invention consists in that it permits of great flexibility in the design of conveying systems op erated in accordance with the invention because the store, by suitable selection, may be employed for the most varied special applications such as preferential control actions whereby preferential treatment is given to objects fed in at, or addressed to, specific stations. Still another advantage of the method in accordance with this invention consists in that it may be performed with different types of stores, such as stores with direct access to each location (content addressable memories) or shift registers in which the items of information are advanced at timed intervals. Where such shift registers are employed, the third item of information may be stored in such a manner that it will not require any additional storage capacity, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

However, the present invention not only relates to a method of controlling a distributing conveying system, but also to a distributing conveying system with a recirculating conveyor comprising a plurality of feed and discharge stations for objects which are fed into the system at any desired station together with an indication of the destination in the form of a destination input and discharged automatically upon reaching such destination, the conveying system being divided into successive track sections and one station being interposed between every two track sections, with an electronic control system, electrically connected with each station, comprising a store which receives the identification tag of the desired discharge station as destination tag when an object is fed into the system and which causes the object to be discharged at the time it reaches its destination. It is another object of the present invention to simplify and improve such a distributing conveying system so as to provide a dependable distributing conveying system with a less elaborate and, consequently, less expensive control system. In accordance with the present invention, this object is accomplished by using a store which is capable of storing at least three items of information for each object to be conveyed, said items of information indicating the destination of the object, the track section in which it is contained and the position in which the object ranks in relation to the other objects contained in the same track section, by connecting a comparator which upon arrival of an object at a station compares the destination tag of that object with the station tag and, in case of coincidence, triggers the discharge mechanism of that station and by connecting to the said comparator a control logic which in case of non-coincidence allocates to the object a new item of information which contains the identifying tag of the next track section as new position tag and which also indicates that the said object is the last object in the following track section, while the destination tag remains unchanged.

For position identification, the system uses the identifying tag of the feed station or of the station which the object has just passed or else the identifying tag of the adjoining track section. Preferably, the identifying tag of a station and the identifying tag or designation of the track section adjacent to that station in the direction of conveyance are identical. Throughout the present specification, it will be assumed that the identifying tags of a station and the following track section are identical as this permits the facts involved to be represented in a simplified form. Where the identifying tags of a station and the following track section differ, the tag of that track section rather than the tag of the preceding station will have to be used for position identification. In tum, the identifying tag of the preceding track section is always identical with the tag identifying the station preceding that track section.

A special advantage of the present invention consists in that it does not require comparing devices and reading devices at every station whereby the costs per station for an apparatus in accordance with this invention are considerably reduced. The elimination of separate reading devices for each station also eliminates a source of trouble known to give rise to frequent complaints in operation. Another special advantage of the system in accordance with this invention consists in that it is very flexible in use. It is possible to concede preference to specific tracks or specific objects, e.g., when the objects fed in at a specific station are to be handled with preference at times of particularly heavy demand. Another advantage of the system in accordance with this invention consists in that the number of occupied store locations may be readily determined and that this number reflects the momentary loading of the system. The number of blank lines, blank levels or blank locations indicates the number of objects or containers that may be additionally fed into the system without first discharging an object or container at any point in the system. The terms container and object shall be equivalent for the purposes of this specification. Another advantage is that when the store is occupied to full capacity, a further object may be fed into the system after another object has been discharged at the same or any other station. This is possible because storage locations need not be permanently allocated to a specific station or track section. Finally, the system in accordance with this invention also caters for the possibility of providing an adequate supply of empty containers at those stations which have a particularly heavy demand for such empty containers. Still another advantage consists in that the capacity of the store may be rated for the maximum number of objects that will have to be conveyed simultaneously at any one time, which means that with a system in accordance with this invention the storage capacity is not a function of the physical size of the system and that no allowance need be made for the contingency of a jam at one point of the system. The apparatus in accordance with the present invention may, therefore, be used to advantage for both large and small installations.

The stores or memories employed may be of different types which are known per se. For example, the store may be a shift register in which the stored information is advanced at timed intervals. Another embodiment of the present invention includes a store whose locations are directly accessible. In the English-language literature, such stores are described as content addressable memories or direct access memories. In both types of store, the storage capacity per location or address is usually sufficient to accommodate three items of information. However, according to a particularly preferred embodiment of this invention, which includes a shift register, the third item of information is expressed by the sequence of information contained in the shift register. This is accomplished by an arrangement whereby the destination and position tags are entered into a free line of the shift register whenever an object enters a track section and whereby the free line is selected so that in the store these two tags are located after all other items of information with the same position tag in the direction of information flow, the information located in the last line of the store being reentered into a free line of the store which, in the direction of information flow, is located after all items of information with the same position tag as long as the corresponding object is contained in a track section of the conveying system. Thus, the sequence of information in the shift register need not correspond to the sequence of objects or containers in the conveying system. The only condition which must be fulfilled is that the sequence of information must agree with the sequence of the containers within a track section. However, between these items of information the store may contain any other desired information. The special advantage of this embodiment consists in that it permits the space for the third item of information to be saved so that the store may be smaller and less expensive. Although the information in the store bears no fixed relation to a specific container while that container travels through the system, it is, surprisingly, possible to determine the destination and position tags corresponding to a specific container when it enters a station. To achieve this, all that is required is picking out that item bf information which, in the direction of information flow in the store, is the first among all items of information carrying the position tag of the preceding station. As the information in the store is ordered in the sequence of the containers in the track section, the first item of information must necessarily correspond to the first container. The first container must necessarily also be the first to enter the next station so that correspondence between containers and information is always assured at the only point in time where such correspondence is required, viz. upon arrival at a station.

According to preferred embodiments of this invention, an object entering a station is detected by means of a sensor and an item of information is formed which is composed of the tag identifying the preceding station as position tag and the tag identifying the station which the object is entering as destination tag. The information so formed is compared with the first item of information in the shift register which, in the direction of information flow, has the same position tag. If the two destination tags coincide, a discharge pulse is released for the station concerned, whereas if the two destination tags do not coincide, the information is withdrawn from the shift register, the position tag of this information replaced by the position tag of the station which the object is entering and this new information containing the original destination tag reentered into a free line of the shift register after all items of information having the same position tag. Thus, when a container passes a station, the information is adapted to the new position of the object which enters the following track section as the last of all objects contained in that track section unless it is discharged at that station.

The various stations may be permanently connected to the electronic control system which performs the functions described above whenever an object is fed into the conveying system or enters a station. For proper functioning, it is only necessary to ensure that such an event does not occur simultaneously at two stations, e.g., by causing a delay at one station. However, according to preferred embodiments of this invention, the various stations are successively connected to the electronic control system during a station scanning interval and the information contained in the store completes at least one full cycle during each station scanning interval. The operating speed of contemporary electronic components is such that all stations can easily be scanned within a time which is so brief that even an object-feeding or entering operation commencing directly upon termination of the station scanning interval will not be completed before the next station scanning interval occurs at that station. To make sure that the full content of the store will be compared with the information formed upon entry of an object into a station, irrespective of the order in which the varies items of information are arranged, the information contained in the store is caused to complete at least one full cycle during the station scanning interval whereby all items of information in the store are compared with the information formed upon entry of the object into a station. This is accomplished, in a simple manner, by adapting the number of timing pulses or clock pulses applied to the shift register during one station scanning interval so as to be equal to the number of lines or levels of the shift register. It is, of course, also possible to apply an integral multiple of this number of timing pulses in which case the information content of the shift register is cycled several times. However, a more expedient arrangement is one in which the shift register completes only one cycle at a time whereupon the system is switched over to scanning the next station.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a singleline feedback store is interposed between the output and input of the shift register. If no information is contained in the last line of the shift register, the feedback store is disconnected from the shift register during the next timing pulse and reconnected at the beginning of the next station scanning interval. The special advantage of this embodiment consists in that it enables the information contained in the shift register to be condensed. During each station scanning interval, a free line between the items of information is erased, i.e., the items of information are pushed together so that the number of free lines between the individual items of information is reduced by one during each station scanning interval. At the beginning of the next station scanning interval, the feedback store is again integrated in the flow of information. This arrangement also ensures that the first line of the shift register will always be blank with the last timing pulse of the station scanning interval since connection of the then blank feedback store results in a blank first line with the next timing pulse. As long as the store is not fully occupied, it is thus possible to again enter an item of information, related to an object which has been newly fed into the system or else an object which is passing the station and just entering into the next track section, with the last timing pulse of each station scanning interval.

When an object is fed into a station, its destination tag is selected by means of dials, for example. From these dials, the information indicating the destination of the object could be fed directly to the shift register. However, according to a preferred embodiment of this invention the destination tag selected when an object is fed into a station is temporarily stored or buffered" in a destination store and, together with the position tag, entered into the shift register with the last timing pulse of the station scanning interval when the object enters into the next track section. According to a further development of the present invention, a check is made before an object is newly fed into the conveying system from a station in order to determine whether a free line which is suitable for receiving the information allocated to that object is available in the shift register. If no suitable free line is available, admittance of the object will be prevented by a lock. This lock will be effective only until another object is discharged at any point of the whole conveying system because in that instant, at the latest, a line will become free in the shift register. Without such a lock, the shift register would have to be dimensioned for the maximum number of objects that may be simultaneously contained in the conveying system at any one time. In other words, the shift register would have to be dimensioned for peak loading. The said lock enables the shift register to be designed for a smaller than the maximum possible peak load without appreciably affecting the operating characteristics of the system. Normally, the fact that a station has been locked will not even be noticed by the operator because the locked condition is usually limited to fractions ofa second car, at the most, a few seconds.

For normal operation of a simple system, a shift register is sufficient which can accommodate the position and destination tags in each line. However, according to a preferred embodiment of this invention each line or level of the shift register has additional storage capacity for further items of information which are moved by the timed shifting operations together with the position and destination tags. These additional 10- cations may be used to store additional information or instructions for additional control functions, such as unlocking signals, switch operating signals or the like. Mutatis mutandis, the same also applies to other types of stores. The shift register may have a plurality of inputs. For instance, each line may be provided with a connection. Preferably, however, the shift register has one input, as known per se, which is connected to the first line in the direction of information flow. Commercially available shift registers with only one input and one or two output connections are substantially less expensive than shift registers with more connections.

The preferred embodiment includes an occupied" lock for the shift register which releases a locking function when there is no free line in the shift register. If the shift register has a connection for each line, all lines must be scanned by the occupied" lock. If, on the other hand, the shift register is provided with a single input connection, it is sufficient to connect the occupied" lock with the first line of the shift register. Feeding an object into the system is only possible when the occupied lock determines that the first line of the shift register is free, whereupon the information related to the object fed into the system is read into said first line. In the preferred embodiment, the occupied" lock is connected with locking barriers at all feed stations.

As already mentioned, a store other than a shift register may be used alternatively, such as a store with immediate access to all locations. In that case, the third item of information is input as serial number. The serial numbers correspond to the order in which the objects being conveyed succeed each other within a track section. When this order changes, the serial numbers are changed accordingly. Thus, the arrangement of the various items of information in the store no longer serves as the code which indicates the sequence of objects and the information in the store may be arranged in any desired order. Whenever an object is transferred to a specific track section, the total number of objects contained in that track section is determined and the next serial number is allocated to the additional object transferred to that track section. Cyclical scanning of the various stations is also possible with these embodiments of the invention, the various stations being connected to the same wires of a common line. Alternatively, a separate cable may be run to the electronic control system from each station such that each station has its own wires.

Otherwise, the basic principle of operation of this arrangement is the same as that of the arrangement incorporating a shift register as previously described. Of course, the control details are selected to suit the characteristics of the different types of stores employed. The characteristics of the different stores and the various selection, processing and reading units are known per se. They are not, or only slightly, different from the known units customarily employed in connection with digital computer techniques.

To locate a specific item of information in the store, part of the stored information is used as seek address. If, for instance, the destination track is used as seek address, all items of information featuring this destination track will be read out together with their corresponding destination identifications and serial numbers. The information may be read in at any desired free location in the store. Furthermore, additional items of auxiliary information may be carried along in the store, such as information related to the container, its destination or the track.

In preferred embodiments ofa distributing conveying system in accordance with the present invention comprising a shift register in which the information is advanced in response to pulses generated by a clock, an output of the shift register may be connected to an input of the shift register; the output of the shift register has connected to it a comparator and the comparator, in turn, has connected to it a search store connected to a search detector which upon entry of an object into a station furnishes the identifying tag of that station as destination tag and the identifying tag of the preceding station passed by that object as position tag, the yes output of the comparator is connected to a pulse emitter which sends an output signal to the station concerned and furnishes an erase signal for the corresponding information in the shift register and search store and the electronic control system is provided with a destination store which is connected with an input of the shift register and the destination tag of which, upon transfer of an object from a station into the adjoining track section, is entered as destination tag together with the identifying tag of that station, which tag is used as position tag. An embodiment of this type has the advantage of a particularly simple and inexpensive design. Stores which meet the specified requirements are commercially available.

Furthermore, according to preferred embodiments of this invention, the output of the shift register connected to the last line or level of the shift register in the direction of information flow has connected to it the input of a single-line feedback store whose output may be connected to the input of the shift register.

A special advantage of such a distributing conveying system consists in that the shift timing is not dependent on the speed of the conveying system. This means that one and the same system may include track sections running at different speeds without any adverse effect for the functioning of the control system. Thus, it is, for instance, possible to combine horizontal conveyors with tower-type winders.

An advantage of using a feedback store consists in that it enables the information contained in the shift register to be condensed. During each station scanning interval, a free line between the various items of information as erased. In other words, the various items of information are pushed together so that the number of free lines between the various items of information is reduced by one during each station scanning interval.

In principle, an item of information may be entered whenever a suitable blank line is available. According to preferred embodiments of this invention, a check is made before the last timing pulse during the station scanning interval to find out whether the last line of the shift register, which is reconnected to the input, or the feedback store is free. If the answer is yes, a new item of information is entered into the first line of the shift register with the last timing pulse. Provided that the feedback store is disconnected during each station scanning interval, a free line will always be available at the time of the last timing pulse since the feedback store is reconnected prior to the first timing pulse of the next station scanning interval and the blank line so produced is cycled through the store so that the first line will be blank at the time of the last timing .pulse. Only when the store is filled to capacity may it happen that the first line is not blank at the time of the last timing pulse. To advance the connection from the electronic control system to the various stations, a separate clock or timing pulse generator may be provided which is synchronized with the timing pulse generator furnishing the shift timing pulses during the. station scanning interval. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the timing pulses of the timing pulse generator for the shift register are also used to advance the connection from the electronic control system to the various stations and the connection from the electronic control system to the scanned station is switched over to the next station to be scanned by the timing pulse following upon the last timing pulse of a station scanning interval. In this arrangement, all timing pulses may have the same amplitude and duration. Whether a specific pulse is a shift timing pulse or a switch-over pulse may, for instance, be decided by a following ring counter whose number of levels exceeds the number of levels of the shift register by one. Alternatively, every timing pulse effecting a switch-over may have a polarity, amplitude or duration differing from the shift timing pulses.

After an object has been discharged from the conveying system, the information corresponding to that object must be removd from the store. One possibility of achieving this is by preventing this item of information from returning to the input of the shift register, e.g., by interrupting the feed line to the input of the register. Alternatively, an erase signal emitter may be provided which may be connected to the output or the input of the shift register and which furnishes an erase signal Ill which erases the information at the time the information to be erased appears at the output or input.

The stations of the system described may be of relatively simple design since they are not required to compare or read any addresses. It is sufficient to equip each station with one sensor for objects arriving from the preceding track section and one sensor for objects entering into the following track section, said sensors to be connectable to the electronic control system.

The one sensor sends a signal to the electronic control system which indicates the arrival of an object and the other sensor a signal which indicates the dispatch of an object. If the electronic control system is connected to all stations simultaneously, the sensors of all stations must additionally be provided with a special indentifying tag permitting the electronic control system to recognize the station at which a specific event is occurring. However, if the electronic control system may be cyclically connected to all stations, as envisaged by preferred embodiments of the present invention, allocation of the sensors to their respective stations results automatically since the only signals that can arrive are those emitted by the sensors of the station selected at any one time. A certain minimum speed of the scanning cycles must, however, be maintained to ensure that the duration of the signals emitted by the sensors exceeds the time during which all stations of the entire conveying system are scanned.

Thus, according to one embodiment of this invention, the frequency or rate of a clock or timing pulse generator is set tof n (i+ 2) v/l, where n is the number of stations, i the number of lines of the shift register, v the speed of the object and l the minimum distance between the end of one and the start of the next object on the conveyor. Furthermore, the switching frequency of the cyclic connection of all stations with the electronic control system is f, f /n. Since the operating and switching speeds of common electronic components are very high, even systems with conveying speeds in the order of m/sec can be operated without any difficulty with clearances of a few centimeters between successive objects, even with a large number of stations along the conveyor and with shift registers having a great number of lines.

The search detector, which supplies the search store with the information required from time to time, includes a ring counter which is advanced at the switching frequency f,,, whose number of levels is equal to the number n of stations in the system and whose switching position yields the identifying tag of the station connected to the electronic control system at that instant. This identifying tag is entered into'the search store at the location corresponding to the location in the shift register which contains the destination tag. According to a further development of this invention, the search detector includes a further ring counter which is advanced at the switching frequency f,, whose number of levels is equal to the number n of stations in the system, whose switching condition always lags one step behind the first ring counter of the search detector and whose switching position yields the identifying tag of the preceding station. In this connection, it should be noted that the identifying tag of the preceding station is identical with the identifying tag of the track section preceding the station which is just connected with the electronic control system as viewed in the direction of conveyance. This information of the second ring counter of the search detector is entered into the search store at the location corresponding to the location in the shift register which contains the position tag. Thus, the search detector affords the advantages ofa very simple design and a very simple method of operation. Together with the search store and the comparator, the search detector enables the object arriving at the station to be identified.

To connect and disconnect the feedback store to and from the output of the shift register, preferred embodiments of this invention include a bistable logic element as level change-over switch whose setting input is so connected to the timing pulse generator that at the beginning of the station scanning interval it is flipped into the position in which the feedback store is connected and that its resetting input is so connected to the comparator that it flips back into its original position in which the feedback store is disconnected when the comparator responds to a coincidence of the position tags at the outputs of the shift register and the search store. This arrangement ensures that at the beginning of a station scanning interval the feedback store is always connected whereby the information contained in the last line of the shift register is transferred to the feedback store with the following timing pulse and returned from the feedback store to the input of the shift register with the timing pulse following immediately thereafter. If no signal is received by the search store because no object is entering the scanned station at that moment, the comparator responds as soon as no information appears in the last line of the shift register because in that case this position tag is identical with the position tag 0 contained in the search store. As a result, the feedback store is disconnected and this blank line thus removed from the shift register after the next timing pulse at which this O-information is transferred to the feed-back store. On the other hand, the fact that the feedback store is connected at the beginning of each station scanning interval ensures that the first line of the shift register is blank after the first shift timing pulse which, in turn, ensures that at the time of the last pulse this blank line is located in the first line of the shift register so that this line is always free to accommodate new information. Thus, all that is necessary is to make sure that such new information is always entered into the register with the last shift timing pulse. Such new information can always be accommodated until alllines of the register are occupied.

According to a further development of the invention, a bistable logic element, such as a flip-flop, is used as input switch for entering the station identifying tag of the simultaneously scanned station and the destination tag contained in the destination store into the shift register, the setting input of the said bistable logic element being connected with the arrival sensor of the station and a feed signal emitter and being settable by them, while the resetting input of the said logic element receives the last timing pulse of a station scanning interval as resetting signal. The logic operation of this bistable logic element with respect to the other circuit elements is such that it will not pass the destination and position tags to the input of the shift register until it is reset by the last timing pulse. What is achieved thereby is that the input of new information into the input of the shift register will invariably occur when the last timing pulse and only when the last timing pulse, when the first line of the shift register is free. An item of information can only be entered into the shift register when an object reaches the station which shall not be discharged, i.e., an object which continues on its way through the conveying system, or when an object is newly fed into the station.

According to preferred embodiments of this invention, the logic operation of the destination store with respect to the remainder of the circuitry is such that its input may be temporarily connected to the output of the shift register or to the destination input of the station connected to the electronic control system. In the first case, the destination store serves as temporary storage or buffer for the information indicating the destination of an object if such object merely passes the station without being discharged and its destination tag is, therefore, reentered into the shift register, together with the new position tag, when the said object is fed into the next track section. In the latter case, the destination store serves as buffer for the information related to an object which is newly fed into the conveying system and this information is retained until the last shift timing pulse of the corresponding station scanning interval is given. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the destination store switch is a bistable logic element whose setting input may be connected to the arrival sensor of the station connected to the electronic control system and whose resetting input is connected to the yes" output of the comparator which only checks the position tag. Consequently, the destination store switch permits the destination information of the last line of the shift register to pass into the destination store only if the position tags of the search store and the last line of the shift register coincide and if, at the same time, the corresponding destination tags do not coincide (because otherwise the object would have to be discharged) and if, additionally, an a-signal is being received from the arrival sensor. Furthermore, one of the timing signals must be available since the entire electronic control system is clockactuated, i.e., operating in response to pulses generated by a timing pulse generator.

In accordance with a further development of this invention, a bistable logic element may be used as erasing switch for the information of the first line of the shift register, the setting input of this bistable logic element being connected to the arrival sensor of the station connected to the electronic control system and, in case of coincidence between the position and destination tags, to the yes output of the comparator, while its resetting output is so connected with the timing pulse generator that the last timing pulse of each station scanning interval may be used as erasing signal for the first line of the shift register and the trailing edge of the said timing pulse as resetting signal for the erasing switch. In other words, the erasing switch is set when the position and destination tags in the last line of the shift register and in the search store coincide and when, in addition, the arrival signal and one of the timing signals are being applied. Resetting of the erasing switch is effected by the last timing pulse of a station scanning interval.

To ensure that the information to be entered into the shift register with the last shift timing pulse is available in the proper timed sequence, one embodiment of the invention includes a circuit group with at least two bistable logic elements which are connected to a line with the station scanning timing pulses m and with feed or arrival signals e or a. The first bistable logic element must then meet the requirement m (e a) for setting and the requirement m (e a) for resetting; setting of the second bistable logic element, which coincides with the trailing edge of the station advancing pulse, requires that the first logic element be set, while resetting is only possible when the first logic element is in the reset position. In the output of the circuit group, there is provided a gate which is open when the first logic element is set and the second logic element is reset. This arrangement enables the feed and arrival signals to be processed in the manner desired.

A conveying system in accordance with this invention may be readily adapted to growing capacity requirements by subsequent extension. To this end, spare connections are provided for additional stations which, although initially not provided with stations, already bear an identifying tag and are treated like operative stations by the electronic control system. The advantage of this arrangement consists in that no major modification of the electronic control system will be necessary when the corresponding stations are installed at a later date. Input of the identifying tags into the search store is effected via an additional double gate to which the station identifying tags delivered by the two ring counters are applied.

During operation of a distributing conveying system it may happen that a wrong destination tag is selected by mistake. As long as this wrong destination tag relates to an existing station the only consequence is that the object is dispatched to the wrong station. However, if a destination is selected which is not related to any existing station, the object will be discharged nowhere and circulate through the system indefinitely. The result is that space is unnecessarily taken up in the system and that, in addition, the object concerned becomes undiscoverable because normally nobody will know that it is in the system since the operator selecting the non-existent destination normally will not notice that he has entered a wrong destination tag. To avoid disturbances resulting from such mistakes, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes an identifying tag emitter at the output of which all identifying tags existing in the system will appear on call. In addition, a further comparator is provided for comparing these tags with an entered destination tag. This comparator has an output which emits an error signal if the destination does not coincide with any of the tags emitted by the identifying tag emitter. According to further development of the invention, the error signal output may be connected to a destination generator which generates a collective destination tag. A wrong destination input, i.e., the input of a destination which does not exist in the system, will then merely cause the object concerned to be ejected at a collecting station corresponding to the collective destination tag. Thus, objects are prevented from wandering around through the system. According to another embodiment of this invention, this destination generator is replaced by a locking signal emitter which locks the corresponding feed station from which the wrong destination tag was entered in response to an error signal. This embodiment has the advantage that the operator entering the wrong destination tag notices that he has made a mistake. To unlock the feed station, he is then compelled to enter a destination tag whichexists in the system, whereupon the object will be dispatched to the station corresponding to that destination tag.

According to preferred embodiments of this invention, each station is provided with a feed opening equipped with a locking arrangement and an operable route switch with a detecting element located downstream of that switch for the purpose of discharging arriving objects. The design of the locking arrangement may be such as to ensure that an object to be fed into the system will be fed in at the proper time i.e., when sufficient clearance is available between two successive objects travelling through the system. The operable switch is actuated via the comparator when the position and destination information in the last line of the shift register and in the search store coincides.

One possibility of electrically connecting the stations to the electronic control system is to run a separate line from the electronic control system to each station (star connection). However, in large conveying systems with many branches this involves very elaborate cabling as many lines run parallel to each other over major distances. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stations of the conveyor are, therefore, connected in parallel to the wires of a line connected to the electronic control system. The desired station is then selected and connected to the electronic control system by means of corresponding signals. With this embodiment, it is sufficient to lay one cable running parallel to the mechanical conveyor.

Further details and embodiments of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conveying system with four stations and four track sections containing five objects at two successive points in time,

FIG. 2 is a function chart of the logic configurations showing the various logic operations,

FIG. 3 is an example of the time sequence ofinformation flow to the store,

FIG. 4 is a time diagram of the events in station 2 according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a circuit for recognizing and handling identifying tags of non-existent destinations,

FIG. 6 is the schematic representation of a feed and discharge station with stand-by track,

FIG. 7 is the schematic representation of a system with a plurality of branches and junctions,

FIG. 8 is a detail of the logic configuration corresponding to the arrangement in accordance with FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the interlinkagebetween two conveying systems,

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram which illustrates how a station is connected to the electronic control system, and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a system comprising a store or memory with immediate access to all locations.

In the simple system shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor comprises four track sections numbered ll, /2, l3 and /4. At each transition between two successive track sections there is provided a station which may be a feed and/or discharge station. The stations are also numbered, the station numbered /1 being followed, in the direction of conveyance, by the track section numbered Ill, then the station numbered /2 and then the track section numbered /2 etc. A simplified system of this type involves the following signals:

A feed signal which signals that a container has been fed into the track, an arrival signal signalling the arrival of a container at a station and a discharge signal which is emitted by the electronic control system when a container has reached its destination and is to be removed from the track. The central shift register of the electronic control system contains the destination information of all containers contained in the conveying system at any one time and, in the same line, the number of the track section or the number of the station located ahead of that track section in the direction of conveyance as position identifying tag. The arrangement of the various items of information in the store provides a key to the number of objects contained in the conveying system and the sequence in which these objects move along the individual track sections.

In principle, the system admits objects of any desired shape. However, in that case expensive arrangements are necessary to ensure that the most varied objects will be gripped reliably. In distributing conveying systems of this kind it is, therefore, common practice to place the objects into containers 4 and to circulate these containers. Apart from protecting the objects against rough handling, this has the advantage that owing to the uniform shape of the containers the conveyor proper and the various sensors and gripping devices may be adapted to suit this consistent shape of the containers. For this reason, the term container will be used throughout the remainder of the present specification, but it shall be understood that this term is equivalent to the term object as employed in the preceding part of the specification.

In FIG. 1, no container 4 is located in track section II, three containers are located in track section /2, one container is located in track section /3 and one container in track section /4 at a specific point in time. The container in track section /4 bears the destination information /1, which means that it is to be discharged at station /1. The container in track section /3 is to be dispatched to station /2 and the containers in track section /2 are to be delivered at stations /4, l3 and /1 respectively. Somewhat later, the containers 4 have reached the positions indicated by the broken lines. In the meantime, the first container in track section /2 with the destination information /4 has passed the station /3. This means that this container now ranks last in track section /3 and that the following container in track section /2 with the destination information /3 has moved to first place within that track section. In the condition shown in full lines in FIG. 1, the shift register associated with the conveying system (not shown in FIG. 1) contains a blank first line, the position identifying tag /4 and the destination identifying tag /1 in the second line, the position identifying tag /2 and the destination identifying tag /1 in the third line, the position identifying tag /2 and the destination identifying tag /3 in the fourth line, the position identifying tag /2 and the destination identifying tag /4 in the fifth line and the position identifying tag /3 and the destination identifying tag /2 in the sixth line, i.e., the last line of this example. Thus, the register indicates that the track section /3 contains a container 4 with the destination /2 and the track section /4 a container with the destination /I. The register also shows that three successive containers bearing the destination identifying tags /4, /3 and /l are located in track section /2. When the container 4 with the destination identifying tag /4 passes the station /3,

this information is removed from the shift register and a new item of information is entered into the input of the shift register. This new item of information again includes the destination identifying tag /4 while the position identifying tag /2 has been converted to the position identifying tag /3 in order to indicate that the container is now located in track section /3. At the moment in which the containers assume the positions indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 1, the shift register contains the following information:

In this example, the line contents are given in the direction of information flow, starting with the first line and proceeding to the sixth line, with the position identifying tag always preceding the destination identifying tag.

In FIG. 1, the direction of conveyance is indicated by an arrow 1. The track section numbers are preceded by a and the stations 3 are represented by pentagons enclosing the respective numbers. The containers 4 move along the track sections in the direction of the arrow 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates the logic configurations of the functional groups cooperating with a shift register 6. In the example shown, the shift register 6 has six successive lines or levels 7 which advance their information content into the next line in response to each shift timing pulse. The first line is connected to an input and the last line to an output. Apart from these connections, the lines 7 have no other external connections. The sixth line 7 is connected to the output, the first line 7 to the input of the shift register 6. In the example shown, the shift register 6 has two columns 8. The one column contains the specified position identifying tags which are designated by the letter T. The other column contains the destination identifying tags Z. Both the position identifying tags T and the destination identifying tags Z additionally comprise the line number of the corresponding line 7.

Thus, an output of the shift register may be connected to an input of the shift register. Furthermore, the output of the shift register 6 has connected to it a comparator 9 for the position and destination identifying tags. The comparator, in turn, has connected to it a search store 10 which is connected to a search detector which, upon entry of an object into a station, signals the identifying tag up that station as destination tag and the identifying tag of the station or track section passed by the object prior to such entry as position identifying tag. The yes output of the comparator is connected to a pulse emitter which sends a discharge signal to the station concerned and also furnishes an erase signal for the relevant information in the shift register and in the search store. In addition, the electronic control system includes a destination store which is connected to an input of the shift register and whose destination identifying tag, upon transfer of an object from a station into the next track section, is entered as destination identifying tag together with the identifying tag of that station, the latter tag being used for position identification. The column Kl of the comparator 9 is connected with the sixth line 7 of the shift register 6 containing the position identifying tag, while the column K2 of the comparator 9 is connected with the sixth line 7 of the shift register 6 containing the destination information. Two columns, which again accommodate a position and a destination identifying tag, are also pro- 

1. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor comprising: a. a plurality of stations along said conveyor, each station comprising:
 1. means for detecting the arrival of an item at a station,
 2. means for providing station identifying signals upon an item arrival, and
 3. means for discharging an item from said conveyor, b. a central electronic control system comprising:
 1. means for connecting each of said plurality of stations to said central conTrol station,
 2. data storage means for storing for each item in said conveyor, track section data, destination data and track section ranking data, said storage means providing output stored data signals,
 3. means for comparing said stored data signals with the station identifying signals of each station,
 4. means for generating discharge signals to said stations upon coincidence of the stored data signals and the station identifying signals,
 5. means for removing from storage said stored data corresponding to a discharged item, and
 6. means for updating said stored track section data and track section ranking data upon the non-coincidence of the stored data signals and the station identifying signals.
 2. means for providing station identifying signals upon an item arrival, and
 2. data storage means for storing for each item in said conveyor, track section data, destination data and track section ranking data, said storage means providing output stored data signals,
 2. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 1 wherein said data storage means comprises a shift register and said track section ranking data is provided by the position of paired track section data and destination data for each item in said shift register, said shift register having an input and an output.
 2. destination data, and
 2. destination data, and
 3. track section ranking data for ranking the order of entry within a track section, said data storage means having an input and an output, c. item arrival sensing means at each station for providing a signal indicating the arrival of an item within said conveyor system at a station, d. station identification generating means providing first and second track section signals identifying station-preceding and station-following track sections respectively, e. means for comparing said first track section signals with track section data signals from the output of said data storage means, f. means for selecting from said storage means data corresponding to said earliest ranked item within said preceding track section, g. means for comparing said second track section signals with item destination data signals from the output of said data storage means, h. means for discharging an item from said conveyor in response to said arrival signal if said first and second track section signals coincide with said stored track section and item destination data signals, respectively, of said selected earliest ranked item, and i. means for updating said stored track section data, destination data, and track section ranking data, whereby said items are conveyed in said conveyor and discharged at predetermined destination stations.
 3. track section ranking data, c. storing in said storage means said input data, d. conveying items in said conveyor system along conveyor track sections from said feeding station to a discharge station, e. sensing the arrival of each item arriving at a discharge station, f. generating station identifying signals identifying said discharge station upon the arrival of an item at said discharge station, g. comparing said station identifying signals with data signals from said data storage means, h. generating a discharge signal if said stored data signals correspond to said station identifying signals, i. discharging an item at said discharge station in response to said discharge signal, j. erasing said stored data corresponding to said discharged item, k. updating said stored data in the absence of said discharge signal, and conveying said item to another discharge station in the absence of said discharge signal.
 3. means for comparing said stored data signals with the station identifying signals of each station,
 3. means for discharging an item from said conveyor, b. a central electronic control system comprising:
 3. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 2 wherein said connecting means comprises means for cyclically connecting each station to said central control station.
 4. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 3 wherein said cyclic connecting means comprises a ring counter.
 4. means for generating discharge signals to said stations upon coincidence of the stored data signals and the station identifying signals,
 5. means for removing from storage said stored data corresponding to a discharged item, and
 5. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 2 wherein said shift register contains i locations, each location storing a data pair and said central control system further comprises: feedback storage means having an input connected to said shift register output and an output connected to said shift register input, and a timing generator for providing i+1 shifting signals to said shift register upon connection of each of said plurality of stations to said central control system.
 6. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 5 wherein the minimum clock rate ft for the timing generator is ft n(i+2) v/1, where, n the number of stations along the conveyor, i the number of locations in the shift register, v the conveyor speed, and l the minimum distance between items.
 6. means for updating said stored track section data and track section ranking data upon the non-coincidence of the stored data signals and the station identifying signals.
 7. A system for conveying items along track sections in a conveyor comprising: a. a plurality of stations along said conveyor, said stations positioned adjacent a preceding and a following tract section, b. data storage means for storing for each item in said conveyor,
 8. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 7 wherein said conveyor system is a closed-loop recirculating conveyor.
 9. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 7, wherein said data storage means comprises a shift register having an input and an output.
 10. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 9, wherein said shift register comprises a plurality of register locations for storing and shifting in pairs said track section and destination data, whereby said ranking data is provided by the locations position of said paired data within said shift register.
 11. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 7, wherein said updating means comprises: a. means for erasing said stored track section data, destination data and track section ranking data from said storate means upon the discharge of an item, and b. means for replacing said stored track section data by track section data corresponding to the station following track section upon the non-discharge of an item arriving at a station.
 12. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 10 further comprising: a. feedback storage means having an output connected to the input of said shift register, b. change-over switching means for connecting the output of said shift register to an input of said feedback storage means upon the non-coincidence of the first track section signals with said stored track section data signals, and for disconnecting the output of said shift register to the input of said feedback storage means upon the coincidence of the first track section signals with the stored track section data signals.
 13. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 7, wherein said comparing and selecting means are positioned at a central control station electrically connected to said plurality of conveyor stations.
 14. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 13, wherein said central control station is cyclically connected to said plurality of conveyor stations.
 15. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 14, wherein said central control station is electrically connected to said plurality of conveyor stations by means of a ring counter having a number of positions equal to the number of stations, said ring counter providing means for generating said first track section signals.
 16. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 15, wherein said central control station is electrically connected to said plurality of conveyor stations by a second ring counter having a number of positions equal to the number of stations in the system and whose switching position provides means for generating said second track section identifying signal.
 17. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 7 further comprising: a. item entering storage means for storing destination data for an item entering said conveyor system, b. means for storing data corresponding to a valid group of destinations, c. comparing means connected to said item entering storage means and valid group storage means for comparing the entering destination data with said valid group data, and d. means for preventing the entry of an item into said conveyor if said item entering data does not coincide with a valid destination.
 18. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 17 wherein said entry preventing means comprises a locking gate.
 19. A system for conveying items along track secTions of a conveyor as recited in claim 7 further comprising: a. a storage register having an input and an output, b. means for entering destination data of an item entering said conveyor system into said storage register, c. feed sensing means at said conveyor for detecting the entry of an item into said conveyor system, and d. input switching means connected to said arrival and feed sensing means for connecting the output of said storage register to said data storage means and said first track section signals to said data storage means.
 20. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 19, wherein said means for entering destination data comprises a dial, keyboard or similar.
 21. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 19, wherein said data storage means is provided with additional storage areas for storing special data upon the activation of said means for entering destination data and the non-activation of said feed sensing means indicating the non-entry of an item into said conveyor system.
 22. A system for conveying items along track sections of a conveyor as recited in claim 21, wherein the actuation of said feed sensing means by an item entered into said conveyor system erases the stored special data corresponding to said item.
 23. A system for conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system comprising: a. a plurality of closed-looped conveyor systems as recited in claim 8, b. a transfer station for connecting two of said conveyor systems, c. a transfer buffer for storing data identifying a particular conveyor station, d. means for generating at said transfer station a signal identifying said transfer station, e. conveyor-data comparing means for comparing said transfer signal with said stored conveyor identifying data and providing an output signal indicating a coincidence of said compared data, and f. switching means at said transfer station responsive to said coincidence output signal for transferring an item from one to another of said conveyor systems.
 24. A system for conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 23 further comprising: a. feed sensing means for sensing the transfer of an item from said one to another of said conveyor systems, and b. means for erasing said track section data, said destination data and said track section ranking data from the data storage means of said one conveyor system and for inputing track section data, destination data and track section ranking data in the data storage means of the other of said conveyor systems.
 25. A system for conveying items along the track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 7 further comprising, a. means for detecting the distance between items in said conveyor system, and b. means for retarding items in response to said distance detecting means whereby item gap spacing is increased.
 26. A method of conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system comprising the steps of: a. entering an item into said conveyor system at a feeding station, b. inputing data into a data storage means for each entering item, and input data comprising:
 27. A method of conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 26, wherein the station identifying signals are generated by: a. generating a first station identifying signal which identifies the track section preceding said station along the direction of conveyance, and b. generating a second identifying signal which identifies the track section following said station along the direction of conveyance, and wherein said method further comprises the steps of: c. comprising said first station identifying signal to said stored track section data, d. selecting from said stored item data the item data corresponding to the earliest ranked item within said preceding track section, e. generating a first coincidence signal upon the coincidence of said first station identifying signal and said stored track section data of said selected earliest ranked data, f. comparing said second station identifying signal to said stored destination data corresponding to said selected earliest ranked item within said preceding track section, g. generating a second coincidence signal upon the coincidence of said second station identifying signal and said stored destination data whereby said discharge signal is generated upon the occurrence of said first and second coincidence signals.
 28. A method of conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 27 further comprising the steps of: a. storing said track section data and destination data as paired data in a shift register having a number of register locations equal to the allowable maximum number of items within said conveyor, b. inputting entering item data in the first location of said shift register, c. shifting said entered data along successive locations of said shift register, d. feeding output data from the last location of said shift register into a feedback buffer, and e. feeding output data from said feedback buffer into the first location of said shift register whereby said ranking data is determined by the position of said paired data stored in said shift register location.
 29. A method of conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 27, wherein said stored data is updated in the absence of a discharge signal by replacing said track section stored data by data corresponding to said second discharge station identifying signal upon the occurrence of a first coincidence signal.
 30. A method of conveying items along track sections in a conveyor system as recited in claim 29 further comprising the steps of: a. storing in a buffer storage area valid destination data corresponding to discharge stations within said conveyor system, b. comparing, for each item entering the conveyor system, the input destination data with the stored valid destination data, and c. preventing the entry of said entering item into said conveyor if the input destination data does not correspond to a valid destination. 